Whether you thought \u201cThe Abominable Bride\u201d was a satisfying Victorian jaunt or a confusing journey into a certain consulting detective’s mind palace, \u00a0Sherlock’s <\/i>recent New Year’s Day special \u201cThe Abominable Bride,\u201d certainly wasn’t short on bookish references. Here’s a handy guide to all the specific shout-outs to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tales, plus<\/i> a few non-Doyle Holmes adventures too!<\/p>\n
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Spoilers for \u201cThe Abominable Bride\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
A Study in Scarlet<\/i> <\/b><\/a><\/p>\n The very first Holmes adventure is also the very first Holmes book: a Study in Scarlet<\/i>. \u201cThe Abominable Bride\u201d references this by recreating the scene in which Watson meets his old war buddy Stamford, who of course is letting Watson know that a mutual acquaintance needs a flat-mate. This sequence fairly faithfully recreates the events of the novel\u2014specifically Stamford and Watson having a drink at a pub called The Criterion\u2014but also doubly references the first Sherlock<\/i> episode \u201cA Study in Pink,\u201d down to the specific beats and lines of dialogue.<\/p>\n From The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n “The Adventure of A Scandal in Bohemia”<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong>In this version of Victorian mystery-action, Victorian Sherlock has a locket complete with a picture of Irene Adler. This is, of course, a reference to “A Scandal in Bohemia,” in which, after being bested by Irene Adler, Sherlock Holmes \u00a0only<\/em> wants her photograph as payment for working on the case. Additionally, Molly Hooper disguising herself as a man in the morgue could also be a slight reference to Irene Adler doing something similar toward the end of the iconic story.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Adventure of the Greek Interpreter\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n Sherlock’s smarter older brother, Mycroft Holmes, first appeared in this short story, and in it, he is obese to the point of being sedentary. \u00a0He admits he needs his younger brother’s help because of the \u201cleg work\u201d involved. In \u201cThe Abominable Bride,\u201d Mycroft calls upon Sherlock for the same reasons and also is eating a bunch of sweets, in an effort to get himself fatter. This is a version of Mycroft much closer to the Mycroft of the original stories, albeit a little cartoonish.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Adventure of the Five Orange Pips\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n When Sir Eustace Carmichael receives an envelope containing what looks to be dried seeds from some kind of fruit, the hardcore Sherlock Holmes reader knows these are \u201cthe five orange pips.\u201d In the short story of the same name a different man\u2014Joseph Openshaw\u2014receives a similar package, which is later revealed to be a death threat from none other than the KKK. This is referenced again in \u201cThe Abominable Bride,\u201d when Sherlock notices that the secret \u00a0organization of women is borrowing intimidation techniques from secret societies in America.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle\u201d <\/b><\/p>\n This is the only Sherlock Holmes story to take place around Christmas which is referenced twice outright in \u201cThe Abominable Bride.\u201d First, when Lestrade shows up at 221B Baker Street near the start of the mystery, he says he’s only there to pay Holmes and Watson \u201cthe compliments of the season.\u201d Watson says this exact thing to Holmes in \u201cThe Blue Carbuncle.\u201d But, the story itself is referenced by name in the Diogenes Club when the white-gloved bouncer signs to Dr. Watson that he liked reading \u201cThe Blue Carbuncle.\u201d<\/p>\n From The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes<\/i><\/b><\/a> <\/i><\/p>\n \u201cThe Adventure of The Musgrave Ritual\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cThe Abominable Bride\u201d herself\u2014in this case Emelia Ricoletti\u2014probably was inspired by a throwaway line in \u201cThe Musgrave Ritual,\u201d in which Sherlock is mentioning cases he’d solved way before Watson was hanging around with him. One is described as \u201cRicoletti of the club foot and his abominable wife.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Adventure of The Final Problem\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n Professor Moriarty and all his villainous machinations derive almost exclusively from the short story \u201cThe Adventure of the Final Problem.\u201d In its famous (or infamous) climax, we learn that Holmes and Moriarty take a fatal tumble off a cliff at Reichenbach Falls. This scene is recreated beautifully in \u201cThe Abominable Bride,\u201d even though it’s a little less than \u201creal\u201d since Watson shows up to save Sherlock, not to mention, Sherlock jumps off the cliff willingly and seemingly flies like a superhero\/doesn’t die. This whole jumping to one’s death and living thing is also a reference to the Sherlock<\/i> season 2 finale \u201cThe Reichenbach \u00a0Fall,\u201d which is (duh) a reference to \u201cThe Final Problem.\u201d<\/p>\n From The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe Problem of Thor Bridge\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n Mrs. Ricoletti’s name may come from \u201cThe Musgrave Ritual,\u201d but some of her actions recall the events of \u201cThe Problem of Thor Bridge.\u201d In this story, a Mrs. Gibson kill herself, but frames a Mrs. Dunbar. She does this because she’s in love with Mrs. Dunbar’s man and wants to frame her rival for murder; from beyond the grave<\/i>. While Ricoletti and her cohorts have very different\u2014and more altruistic aims\u2014the double pistols and the weaponizing of suicide are too close to be a coincidence.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Adventure of The Creeping Man\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n In \u201cThe Abominable Bride,\u201d Watson receives the famous telegram from Holmes which reads \u201cCome at once if convenient. If inconvenient come all the same.\u201d \u00a0And while Sherlock<\/i> has used these lines before as text messages, the telegram and the wording itself are directly taken from the story \u201cThe Adventure of the Creeping Man,\u201d which features an old guy who starts acting like a monkey. Really!<\/p>\n From His Last Bow<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/i><\/p>\n \u201cThe Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n When Sherlock finds himself back in the \u201creal world,\u201d he’s convinced he needs to find a second corpse buried out with Mrs. Ricoletti. He has a very strong belief that this second skeleton will be buried just underneath the first. This subtly references \u201cThe Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax,\u201d in which baddies double stack bodies in the same casket to avoid detection.<\/p>\n Sidney Paget’s Illustrations<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n The legend has it that the most famous Holmes illustrator (at least the person who illustrated all the stories in The Strand<\/i>) was initially offered the contract by accident. There’s also a predominant belief that Conan Doyle himself wasn’t crazy about the illustrations because Holmes and Watson look too \u201chandsome.\u201d In any case, we do know for sure<\/i> that Paget added certain things to the characters, specifically the deerstalker hat worn by Holmes, which is never mentioned n the prose. In \u201cThe Abominable Bride\u201d Watson bemoans that the \u201cillustrator is out of control,\u201d and that he can’t even be recognized as himself without his mustache. Watson’s mustache is another one of those inventions of Paget, and not Conan Doyle.<\/p>\n A Monstrous Regiment of Women<\/i> by Laurie R. King<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n When talking with Sherlock toward the end of the Victorian section of the episode, Watson throws around a few ideas for a title for the story, including \u201cThe Monstrous Regiment.\u201d This is definitely a Sherlock Holmes reference, but not a reference to one of the Conan Doyle stories! Instead, A Monstrous Regiment of Women<\/i> is a novel by Laurie R. King which is the second installment in the Mary Russell series. This series begins with The Beekeeper’s Apprentice <\/i><\/a> \u00a0and features the primary protagonist\u2014Mary Russell\u2014as an apprentice to Sherlock Holmes, at least at the beginning. \u00a0However, Laurie King’s title is in itself a reference to a 1500’s anti-feminist text called \u201cThe First Blast from a Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regimen of Women\u201d written by a raving madman named John Knox.<\/p>\n The Seven Per-Cent Solution<\/i> by Nicholas Meyer<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n At one point in \u201cThe Abominable Bride,\u201d Sherlock refers to an \u201canalyst’s coach\u201d in Vienna. \u00a0This is almost certainly a direct reference to the Sherlock Holmes novel The Seven Per-Cent Solution<\/i><\/a> by famed Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan<\/em><\/a> director\/writer; Nicholas Meyer. The analyst Holmes is referring to is none other than Sigmund Freud<\/a>, who, in the course of the novel, cures the great detective of his cocaine addiction. Sherlock’s drug use is referenced heavily in \u201cThe Abominable Bride,\u201d as is the idea that Professor Moriarty exists more in his mind than he does in real life. \u00a0In The Seven Per-Cent<\/i> solution<\/em>, its revealed that Moriarty is more psychological construct than actual arch-criminal. (This novel has also \u00a0just<\/em> been adapted into a limited run comic book series!<\/a>)<\/p>\n Where there any more references in “The Abominable Bride?” Get out your \u00a0magnifying \u00a0glasses and let us know! \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Whether you thought \u201cThe Abominable Bride\u201d was a satisfying Victorian jaunt or a confusing journey into a certain consulting detective’s mind palace, \u00a0Sherlock’s recent New Year’s Day special \u201cThe Abominable Bride,\u201d certainly wasn’t short on continue reading<\/span>